My Lent Plans

I’ve never really been fond of society’s typical perspective of Lent. You often here of Christians giving up Facebook or TV or some other habit that they have, in order to force themselves to spend more time with God. Because of this, I have never really “observed” Lent in any way. I never understood why someone had to pick something during these 40 days to give up in order to spend time forming a stronger relationship with God. After all, shouldn’t we – as Christians – be willing to “force ourselves” daily to grow in the love and mercy of our Father and not just for forty days out of the year?

But, this year is different for me…way different. I am choosing to participate in Lent by doing something that I have never even thought about doing before. I am doing the Daniel Fast (www.daniel-fast.com) and I am basically giving up eating anything besides fruits and vegetables for the entire season of Lent. So for 46 days, I am going to be giving up all of the foods that I really enjoy and that give me the strength and energy that I need and I am going to be relying on God to provide that source of strength for me.

When this idea was first mentioned to me, I thought to myself, “Yeah right. There is absolutely no way I could ever do this nor would I ever want to.” No meat, no sugar, and the biggest sacrifice for me - no coffee or caffeine. But as I began to think about it more, my reasoning was quickly challenged. The past few months I have talked about growing closer to God and becoming dependent only on Him, and what better way to quickly grow that dependency than by fasting and focusing on His power.

I know that the next 46 days are going to be extremely tough. There are going to be weeks when I am working 50+ hours a week, completing homework assignments and turning in projects that I am going to desperately need some coffee. I love fruit and vegetables, but eating only that for 46 days is going to take a lot of hard work, prayer, and focus.

As I became more and more open to this, God quickly reinforced the knowledge of His provision to me. For the past week, every devotional, every song, every Bible verse has referenced the greatness and amazing power of our Savior. Our weaknesses are made great by His power and this is what I am leaning on. I know there will be many days that I am going to be incredibly weak, but I know without a doubt that He is a much greater source of strength than anything this world could ever give me.

My devotional this morning, two days away from the start date, summed it up perfectly:

“You need to remember who I am in all My Power and Glory. Then, humbly bring Me your prayers and petitions. Your problems will pale when you view them in the Light of My Presence. You can learn to be joyful in Me, your Savior, even in the midst of adverse circumstances. Rely on Me, your Strength; I make your feet like the feet of a deer, enabling you to go on the heights.”

So, as I journey through the next forty-six days, I ask that you please pray for me and for the rest of us that are doing this fast or any other types of things during Lent. Pray that no matter what, we will search for strength in God and grow closer to Him as our sole supplier of everything that we need.